Wednesday, June 6, 2007

For those of you that aren’t hip (like me…I don’t have an iPod which automatically makes me not hip), a “mash-up” usually refers to a DJ taking two different songs and mixing and “mashing” them together to produce a new musical creation. My personal favorite, the Jay Z/Linkin Park mash-up MTV did a few years ago. If you haven’t heard any of that, and you’re under 60 years old (Hi, Mom), then check it out, it’s great stuff. Big Pimpin for real. Anyway, in that same spirit of combining two great things to make a new even greater thing, I present today’s video recipe clip.

I love classic Greek “Moussaka.” Layers of lamb and eggplant, exotically spiced and topped with a rich, almost custard-like sauce. I also love a good Shepherd’s Pie, what’s not to like about a pie made out of ground meat and mashed potatoes? So, I thought I would try a Shepherd’s Pie using the flavor components of the Greek “Moussaka.” Did it work? Damn right! It was really good, and next to a green salad, made for a very satisfying supper on a foggy San Francisco night.

A few suggestions before you watch the clip. The potato topping I do is relatively bland since I was topping a very highly seasoned meat base. You should use my spice amounts below as a rough guide, and add the cumin, cinnamon and hot pepper in increments until you have something that tastes right to you. The lamb and eggplant mixture is NOT subtlety spiced in this dish, and the ingredient amounts reflect that fact. This dish should explode with exotic and aromatic flavor. To me that’s what makes the “crispy and browned on the top, but moist and tender underneath” potato topping such a great contrast. And don’t forget the fresh mint. As you hear me say in the clip, I used chocolate mint, which you can find at the better garden centers (or order the seeds online – it’s an amazing herb), but plain supper market mint will work beautifully. Enjoy!

16 comments:

OK, yes, I saw it too... that damn 1/2 second blank frame in the middle of the clip. Oh, well, I think this one was actually close to a "real" clip! And thanks for the tip about putting a sock over the mic. Did it help? Did it need to be clean? Still much to learn...Sincere Thanks for all you folks offering all the great feedback and tips!! It makes going broke producing these clips so much more enjoyable.

Who says having money equates to happiness? We all know (well, maybe some don't) that real happiness is more about having something to share, like eating good food with a good friend. Thanks for helping everyone that comes here find 1/2 of that formula!

All right, say I didn't know you liked Linkin Park. That's my fav. band. woo hoo Linkin Park rox ur soxx!!! XD And another thing when are you going to post the polled videos, and are you only going to post the one voted most? I can't decide which one to vote for. *sigh* :(

Well, to be honest I'm more of a JayZ fan... But, that whole concert ROX ur SOX as you put so well. I will eventually do all those recipes, but it looks like Chicken Parm wins the contest for which one I do first. So you'll probably see that one Friday and the rest to follow. Keep watching and keep rockin! "...if youre feeling like a chef, go on brush your shoulders off..."

I have just tried this recipe today. I actually used beef, I don't know if this has changed the taste drastically but because there was no pre-treatment for eggplants, it had a bitter taste to it. I would suggest the old method of leaving eggplants in salt-water for 30 min and then cooking them.Other than that awesome idea!

I just cooked it today but I think because there wasn;t any pre-treatment for eggplant, it had a bitter taste to it which really bothered me.I would suggest using old method of soaking eggplants in salt water for 30 min and then cook them. Other than that this is a great idea!